


Bruises, Pain and You

by henriettebleau



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Domestic Fluff, Kagami Taiga didn't sign up for this shit but since he's hot okay he'll take him, M/M, cheesy shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:06:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24254086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/henriettebleau/pseuds/henriettebleau
Summary: Kagami Taiga has been receiving bruises and it hurts and doesn't hurt all the same.In other words, this is just another soulmate au no one asked for.
Relationships: Aomine Daiki/Kagami Taiga, Kise Ryouta/Kuroko Tetsuya
Comments: 9
Kudos: 177





	Bruises, Pain and You

Kagami feels like shit, as per usual.

He hasn't even opened his eyes yet but he could feel it. His muscles are sore and aching, his back is _killing him_ , and there's a tiny spot somewhere in his leg that hurts to fucking hell, and damn fucking it, not this shit again.

"Motherfucker!" Kagami yells out to no one in particular, opening his eyes. The sun glares at him through his window. He glares back.

There's a sound from his door. Kuroko. The bastard's smirking at him, the little fucker. He slyly coughs and pretends he’s not smirking just a while ago. The fox. "What's up, Kagami-kun?"

"My fucking soulmate is a fucking idiot and I am sick of it, that’s what’s up!" Kagami tells his roommate honestly, gritting his teeth. He sits up and pulls at his pajama pants. There's a purple spot of tender skin just below his knee, like he knew there would be. He swears when he sees it and rubs at his eyes in frustration. "It's like they have a fucking death wish, I swear to God, I am going to flip my shit."

Kuroko chuckles, because he's Satan and enjoys his friend’s pain. "Stop being so over-dramatic. It's not like it hurts."

Kagami frowns. He's right, of course. It didn't really _hurt_ hurt, but, in a way, it kind of did. It's like a memory of pain, like when you remember that one time you fell down a tree and how painful that was, and you shudder at the memory. Remembered pain is nothing compared to actual pain. But Kagami rolls his eyes at Kuroko anyway, because he likes being a bitchy drama queen and also, he can't stop ranting about how accident-prone his soulmate is, wherever the living fuck they may be. God, can Kagami just meet them already so he could smack them in the head?

"Of course it hurts," Kagami defends. "My soulmate is out there getting hurt and I'm not there to kiss it better." Before Kuroko could open his mouth again, probably to comment about how much of a sap Kagami's being, Kagami points an accusatory finger at him. "Just shut up. Stop flaunting the fact that you've met your soulmate already. Fuck off."

Kuroko's smile gets bigger and wait, is that an evil glint in his big blue eyes? "He's coming over today, by the way."

"Oh, well," Kagami grumbles, sliding out of bed. "My cue to leave."

"You don't have to. Kise-kun already thinks you don’t like him that much, don't encourage his theories."

"I don't hate _him._ I hate you two. As a unit." Kagami picks up a pair of pants from his dresser and pulls them on, not bothering to take a shower. He checks his reflection in the mirror. His hair is only about 63% uncooperative. He can live with that.

It's not like he's going to meet his soulmate today.

His back muscles are still sore and tight, so when he pulls on his Black t-shirt, he winces. Seriously. Whoever decided that soulmates needed to receive the same injuries could go fuck themselves, honestly, that is such an inconvenient and painful idea. Especially for people like him, who apparently have Evil Knievel-wannabes for soulmates. He would hate his soulmate just for that, because Kagami has paler skin now so bruises stand out a lot, but he can't. It is physically impossible for him to hate his soulmate because A) They're his _soulmate_ and B) He's never even met them.

When he deems himself presentable (except for his messy-ish hair, which he's given up on ages ago), Kagami bids his roommate goodbye and walks out of their apartment, not bothering to wait for a reply. He briefly wonders where he should go today.

* * *

Cheeseburgers. Definitely Maji Burger. But first, he’d like to have some dose of caffeine. He still feels a bit sleepy. Luckily there's a quaint little café he likes to frequent, because not a lot of people go there and they make his coffee exactly the way he likes it, so with that in mind he sets off, whistling a tune stuck in his head for some reason.

Kagami doesn't actively look for his soulmate most days, so he ponders if it's his own damn fault that he's suffering so much (both physically and emotionally). He doesn't even know what they're like, except maybe that they have a sadist/masochist thing going on, because seriously, who gets hurt that much? He doesn't even know if _they_ is a he or a she. He wouldn't mind either way. Gender is irrelevant when it comes to the love of your life, in his opinion.

He's in the coffee shop before he even registers it, and the barista, his friend Tatsuya, greets him happily. "Taiga! I haven't seen you in a while."

Kagami manages a weak smile back as he approaches the counter. "I've been wallowing in isolation and sadness."

Tatsuya gives him a sympathetic look. "Still no luck, huh?"

Kagami shrugs. He doesn't really want to talk about it. At least, not with Tatsuya. He's a good friend, almost like a real brother, but he won't understand. He found his soulmate when he was like, sixteen. He and and Atsushi have practically been married ever since. Kagami couldn't deny how jealous he was. But at the same time, he’s genuinely happy for them. At least, if Tatsuya woke up to bruises he could ask Atsushi how he got them.

"The usual," Tatsuya asks, but not really, because he already knows the answer. Kagami takes his cup gratefully after Tatsuya prepares it for him and goes to sit in his favorite booth, the cozy one in the corner where he can see the people passing by the windows and silently judge them.

Kagami spots a couple kissing underneath a tree and automatically frowns. Get a fucking room, he wants to say, but there's a bigger part of him screaming WHY CAN'T I HAVE THAT. He's twenty-seven now, for God's sake. Twenty-seven years of looking for his accident-prone soulmate and no such luck. He's convinced that his soulmate is actually a fucking psychopath and he's not actually supposed to end up with him. Or, maybe he’s not looking enough. He miserably sips at his coffee, grumbling as he shifts his gaze away from the vomit-inducing couple, and then tenses when he catches blonde.

Sparkling Blondie, Kise Ryouta. The dude's hair is too fucking easy to spot, Kise himself is fucking easy to spot and he really _doesn't_ hate Kise, not really, but seeing him makes Kagami so insanely jealous of his friend that there's a little bit of contempt growing in him. He could see Kise making his way to their apartment, presumably, and he has his mouth open and his arms are gesturing madly, and oh, he's talking to someone. Okay, that makes sense. He gets a clearer but brief view before they enter Kagami's apartment building. It's a guy, almost as tall as Kise. Maybe another model? Kise says something to him again, and then Kagami sees the dude laugh, and fuck, Kagami's eyes widen because his stomach does a double flip all of a sudden before Kise and his mystery friend disappear from his eyes entirely.

"What the fuck was that?" he mumbles to himself, gripping his Styrofoam cup. Was that some reflex action from disliking Kise Ryouta so much that it rubs off on whoever he interacts with? Was that a good stomach flip or a bad one? He couldn't figure it out. He looked at the building entrance again, and then his coffee cup, and then the window. Kagami can see his reflection in it.

He startles when he finds a bruise he didn't see this morning, a small purple spot on his neck, right below where his jaw met his ear. Sighing, Kagami curses his soulmate in his head for the millionth time, and sips at his coffee, ignoring the remembered pain.

* * *

Back in the apartment, Kuroko frowns to himself as he squints at the instructions at the back of the pancake mix. He promised Kise he would make pancakes for him one day, and he decided that morning that _that day_ would be today. Kuroko can't cook for shit, but he loves Kise, so he's willing to sacrifice his kitchen and his eyebrows, or any other part of him that might get burned off accidentally. Kagami’s always there to cook for them but he’s not here to save his ass if things don’t go well. He doesn’t have a plan B but he’s pretty sure Kise will eat whatever the outcome is. Hopefully, it’ll be edible. At least.

There's a knock on the door which Kuroko assumes is Kise so he just calls out, "Come on in!" and goes back to the pancake batter conundrum. But when the door swings open, he hears laughter that is _definitely not_ _Kise_ , and he fears for his life for a total of two seconds before he hears his soulmate's voice saying, "You're a fucking idiot, you know that, right, Aominecchi?"

The guy who Kuroko assumes is Aominecchi laughs again. "I'm getting desperate, dude."

Kuroko abandons the pancake mix in favor of getting a look at who the fuck Kise brought with him, who is apparently a desperate fucking idiot. When Kuroko appears in Kise's line of sight, Kise just immediately lights up and forgets this Aominecchi altogether, closing the distance between them and taking Kuroko's face in his hands and kissing him.

Kuroko's soul lights up in response. He makes a happy noise at the back of his throat, tip toes and slides his hands up Kise's sides, wrapping it around his neck.

"Kise, you promised," Aomine whines. "No rubbing it in my face that I'm a depressed loser who's going to die alone."

Kise grunts, which, roughly translated, means _Fuck off and let me kiss my beautiful boyfriend because I love him and no one cares about your existence,_ _Aominecchi_ _._ Kuroko hums in agreement.

Finally, the couple breaks away, breathless and dizzy. Kuroko smiles stupidly at Kise and slides his arm around his waist before they face Aomine again, who just stares at them glumly.

"Sorry," Kuroko says, although he's not sorry at all.

"No, you're not," Aomine deadpans.

Kuroko smiles again. "I'm really not. I'm Kuroko Tetsuya, by the way." He extends his free hand out to Aomine, who shakes it good-naturedly nonetheless.

"I know. Kise can't shut up about you. I'm Aomine Daiki, though, because I'm pretty sure you've never even heard about me, considering how Kise can physically only think and talk about Kurokocchi."

"Both those things are true," Kise says, grinning. Then he turns to Kuroko with a concerned look on his face. "I'm sorry for bringing him, he was having a bad day, and I'm afraid that he's going to get himself into some stupid shit again because the dude is fucking suicidal but if you want I can totally get rid of him, don't be mad at me, Kurokocchi—"

"Wow, way to make me feel better, Kise," Aomine interrupts dryly.

Kuroko pinches Kise's cheek lovingly. "It's okay." Then he turns to Aomine. "You suicidal, Aomine-kun?"

"He's exaggerating, but I'm starting to question myself," Aomine answers truthfully.

"Why?"

Aomine rolls his eyes the same time Kise snorts. "The matters of the heart," Kise answers for him.

"Oh," Kuroko says, thinking of Kagami. He totally understands. "No luck, huh?"

Aomine makes an exasperated sound. "It's like, I'm going out, meeting people every day, I'm on every fucking dating site there is, I'm fucking _looking_ , dude, but they're nowhere and it's getting really fucking frustrating because I just want to love the fuck out of someone and buy them dinner and watch movies and have great, mind-blowing sex every fucking day."

"Wow. How specific," Kuroko notes.

Aomine throws his hands up in the air before slumping down on their beat-up couch. "I'm going to fucking die alone. I'm never finding them."

"Hey, come on, don't lose hope," Kuroko says encouragingly, because he's a far better friend than Kise is even though he's only known Aomine for like, six minutes. "It'll happen. Stop trying so hard."

Aomine snorts again. "I wish I could. But, like, I fucking feel _him_. You know? He's out there."

Kuroko raises an eyebrow. "You know he's a guy?"

"I—not sure, but I feel like he is. Somehow. And he's out there. Waiting for me." Aomine's blushing now, looking away from Kise and Kuroko suddenly. In that moment the couple could feel just how sad Aomine really is, how badly he wants to find his soulmate. They share sympathetic looks with one another before joining Aomine on the couch, sitting on either side of him and hugging him through some sort of complex understanding that Aomine needs a hug.

"Oh, no, come on, guys, I'm fine," Aomine says, although his voice falters in the end.

"You want anything, Aominecchi?" Kise says, patting Aomine's knee.

"Coffee? I haven’t been getting enough sleep as well," he says sadly.

"I'll get you some," Kuroko says, getting up from the couch to fix him a cup of coffee. As he's stirring the hot mug he ponders of Aomine's love problems and how he's helping him when just this morning he was laughing at Kagami's. Oh, well, that was different. Kagami was complaining about his back problems and Aomine's complaining about never finding the love of his life. Aomine had his priorities in check, seeing as Kagami never actively looked for _his_ soulmate.

Kuroko comes back to find Aomine's head on Kise's shoulder and Kuroko smiles to himself because he loves his boyfriend very much and he's such a good person, no matter what anyone told him. Kuroko is so absorbed in loving Kise, however, that he doesn't notice the copy of a magazine strewn haphazardly on the floor, and of course he trips on it, and of course he has to be holding a steaming cup of coffee that tragically spills all over Aomine's lap.

"Holy fucking shit!" Aomine yelps, jumping out of the couch.

"Oh my gosh, sorry, Aomine-kun!"

"It's okay, it's just—ah, fuck, that's hot." Aomine frowns to himself. "Is it okay if I take off my pants?"

"Be my guest, it's my fault, anyway," Kuroko says, muttering another apology. He eyes the coffee stain on the carpet. Man, Kagami-kun is _so_ going to be pissed.

Aomine unbuckles his belt quite self-consciously, but he knows he's safe around Kise and Kuroko, who literally only see each other. He bends down to pull them off, and his back cricks immediately and he lets out another yelp.

"What is it? Did you get second degree burns? Oh no, you did, didn't you—"

Aomine interrupts Kuroko before an aneurysm could pop in his brain. "No, it's just, my back."

Kuroko pauses. "Your back?"

"Like I said, baby. Suicidal. Threw himself into a mosh pit. Now, I partly blame myself for giving you those concert tix," Kise explains.

"It was a good idea at the time. And, I was really drunk. I had fun though."

Kise and Aomine continue to argue over whether or not Aomine's escapades are cool or just plain stupid, but Kuroko is too busy thinking to really notice the conversation, because he's staring at Aomine but thinking of Kagami, and he's staring at Aomine's bare legs and even though his skin is tanned, you can still see a small spot of purple on his leg and the fact that Aomine apparently has a death wish according to Kise.

He's seen that fucking bruise before and it was on his friend’s fucking leg this fucking morning.

"Both of you shut up," Kuroko says, a little forcefully. He's still staring at Aomine's leg, working the cogs in his brain.

"Baby, are you...are you checking Aominecchi out? And in front of me?" Kise whispers incredulously, a little jealousy seeping into his voice.

Kuroko ignores him. "Aomine-kun. Please, turn around."

"I—what?"

"Turn around so I can see the back of your neck. I just need to check something, okay?"

Aomine looks at Kise, who just shrugs, before turning around. Kuroko steps closer to inspect his neck and tenses when he sees exactly what he needs to see—a small triangular spot near his ear. He taps it lightly and Aomine winces. "I, uh, nicked myself while trying to shave my own head. Long story. I was going through a rough time."

Kise says, "Your whole life is a rough time."

Kuroko isn't even listening anymore. He has his eyes closed, and fuck, he's a genius, and he's already scrambling in his pocket for his phone.

"Kurokocchi, what's going on?" Kise asks, but Kuroko doesn't hear him.

Kagami picks up on the second ring. "Maybe cheeseburger is my soulmate," he tells Kuroko.

"Stop talking and get your ass in here now!"

"Um. Okay. What the fuck?"

"Kagami-kun, I am not fucking around you need to get home right _now_ because he's here, oh my gosh, _he's_ here sitting on the couch being a sap and he's _here_ but you're not, you Bakagami."

"He's—who?" Kagami asks, although his heart is already beating irrationally and he's sliding out of his booth. He's here? "Kuroko—" he says again, but the phone is already dead, and Kagami's heartbeat is so loud he can hear it in his ears and fuck, suddenly he can't walk fast enough. He breaks into a jog, ignoring Tatsuya calling out to him. Once he gets outside he breaks into a run, because fuck, he feels it. He fucking knows it. Kuroko doesn't fuck around.

His back aches and his bruises are kind of tingling again, like they know they're near their original source or whatever, but fuck, it's making Kagami so excited, this remembered pain flooding his system, that he practically sprints as fast as his tired and sleepy body could allow him to until he's standing outside his apartment door, taking in huge gulps of air.

Inside, Kuroko points at Aomine. "Get the door."

"What?" And then Kagami raps on the door angrily, so of course Aomine is spooked the fuck out. "Whoa. Who’s that?"

Kuroko shakes his head and instead goes to sit beside Kise, laying his head on his boyfriend's shoulder. "Just get it, Aomine-kun."

Aomine eyes the couple warily before pulling the door open and seeing—oh. _Oh_.

So that’s what it was when he saw him a while ago. Kagami stares for two seconds too long, and he sees a bruise on Aomine's pretty neck, right below the place where his pretty jaw meets his pretty ears, and he touches his own bruise lightly. Then he shakes his head and says, "You stupid motherfucker," and then takes Aomine's face in his hands and kisses him.

Aomine doesn't question anything because this gorgeous guy is kissing him and he fucking knows it's _him it's him it's him._ He wraps his arms around Kagami's waist, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss, tilting his head to get better access. Fuck, he tastes like coffee and magic, Aomine thought to himself as his tongue skirted around Kagami's lips and dipping inside his mouth tentatively.

Kagami makes a happy noise at the back of his throat and kisses him fiercer, running his fingers through the other man's hair and moaning into their kiss. _Oh my god, it's happening_ , he thought.

They would've gone on forever but unfortunately humans need oxygen to continue to survive, so they broke away, breathless and light-headed, with smiles so wide it actually hurt. Kagami kind of stumbled forward when Aomine pulled him into the apartment and closed the door behind him.

"It's you," Aomine says in awe, his eyes landing on the bruise on Kagami's neck.

"And it's _you_ —you crazy little shit, why are you always getting hurt so much?" Kagami thought he should be angry, but fuck, his soulmate is the most gorgeous thing to ever grace the world and he already wants to start living the rest of his life with him.

Aomine laughs, nuzzling his nose into Kagami's neck. "Sorry, I thought it would make it easier to look for you. I mean it’s not everyday you’ll see someone with the same fucking bruises, right?"

"What, until you accidentally kill the both of us?" Kagami whispers, closing his eyes at the new sensations bubbling in his system as Aomine kisses his neck softly.

Aomine hummed a little, a sexy, deep sound, and Kagami's practically ready to get down on his knees and give his beautiful soulmate the best blowjob of his fucking life when they're interrupted by Kuroko coughing not-so-subtly from the couch.

"I will fucking end you, Kuroko," Kagami says seriously.

"I’m hurt Kagami-kun. I got you guys together." he replies indignantly.

"And now I want you out of the fucking apartment so I can spend time with—" Kagami looks at Aomine expectantly.

"Aomine Daiki," he supplies, grinning.

"Daiki," Kagami repeats dreamily. Aomine leans in for another kiss.

"Fine, we're leaving. Oh. Just a reminder, I brought him here, Kagamicchi," Kise says, rolling his eyes and pouting. He hands Aomine's pants back to him.

Kagami eyes the pants and then Aomine's legs, only then realizing Aomine is actually half-naked, and noting that he officially has the nicest legs in human history. "Why aren't you wearing your pants?" he asks Aomine.

"He spilled coffee on me," he explains as he points his thumb at Kuroko.

Kagami whirls on Kuroko, inexplicably angry for some reason. "What the fuck, dude!"

"It was an accident, right Kise-kun?"

“Right. My Kurokocchi is not a violent person.”

Kagami opens his mouth but then closes it again. "Yeah shit, I _felt_ that, earlier in the coffee shop, I thought it was just some weird burn—"

Aomine is grinning madly, taking Kagami's hands and sliding it into his own. "I’m fine. Don’t worry too much. You’re- Uh- We’re together. I can’t believe I’ve found you-" He's openly blushing and babbling and it is the most adorable thing Kagami has seen in his life he doesn't even notice Kuroko and Kise saying goodbye and disappearing out of their door.

"And now we're alone," Aomine whispers, then pulls Kagami to his own couch as Kagami follows blindly, feeling vaguely like a baby deer.

"Hi," Kagami says nervously.

Aomine smiles, because he loves the fuck out of this guy so much already. "What's your fucking name by the way?"

“Fuck-yeah-um, Kagami Taiga," he says in reply, laughing.

“Hmm, Taiga.” Aomine then crashes his lips into Kagami's once more, tasting the magic and sparkles and coffee again, and he makes a low growl in his throat because he really does not like the fact that they're both wearing clothes right now.

Aomine pushes Kagami down on the couch and they both groan, not out of pleasure. "My fucking back," Kagami whines, although he's kind of laughing. "I swear to God, what did you _do_?"

"I jumped in a mosh pit," Aomine says, burying his face in the crook of Kagami's neck. He kisses the bruise there. "I'm sorry for this one, too. Never gonna happen again, babe. Swear."

"You better not get yourself hurt anymore. You’re always making me worried sick."

Aomine hesitates. "Actually, I, uh. Sometimes, I, um, do it on purpose."

Kagami eyes him warily. "Is this some kink I should know of?"

"It's just that—it's the only way I can possibly spot you. You're—I've been looking for you for-fucking-ever, I'm sorry, I was getting so desperate, I've wanted to find you for _so long—"_

Kagami kisses him, partly to shut him up, mostly because he is the best kisser in the world and he'd die if he doesn't kiss Aomine some more. "You've found me. No more accidental on purpose injuries, okay?"

Aomine pauses and then bats his eyelashes at Kagami in fake innocence. "Except for when kinky sex calls for it, right?"

Kagami blinked, because he's pretty sure he's never going to let go of Aomine ever again, seriously, he's going to die getting fucked real good, and that made him happy. "If that's what you're into, you crazy motherfucker," he laughs, and then brings Aomine closer again.


End file.
